Despite the rain last Friday evening a large crowd came out to DeKalb County High School to see the Tigers take on region opponent Cumberland County. Fans would not be disappointed as DCHS came away with a big win against the Jets, but the team would be without one of its star players. Just before game time, Quarterback Briz Trapp reported a shoulder issue and would be a no go for the game. That left wide receiver Isaac Knowles to be thrown into the fire as the game began.

The Jets won the coin toss and deferred until the second half. The kickoff would go out of bounds, giving DeKalb the ball at their own 49. From there the Tigers wasted no time getting on the board. After a Colby Barnes run gained two yards, Knowles kept the ball himself and ran down to the Jets’ 23. Another Barnes run was good to the 16, then a keeper was down at the 13. Knowles kept the ball again for a yard, then Barnes was down to the one. Once again Knowles called his own number and was in for the touchdown. With the PAT by Axel Aranda, the Tigers were up 7-0 with 8:44 left in the first.

The Jets’ first possession would go nowhere. After a return to their own 46, a Ryan Dowlen run only netted a yard, then a pass to Treven McGhee fell incomplete. Another Dowlen run lost two yards and the Jets were facing a fourth and 11 from their own 45. The punt would roll dead at the DeKalb 11.

DeKalb looked to extend their lead, and on the first play Knowles ran to the 22. Nathaniel Crook was handed the ball next, but it looked as if the wet conditions might come into play. Crook fumbled at the 37 with the Jets falling on the ball.

It looked as if the Tigers’ defense would hold after a Dowlen run lost three yards, but then a pass to Dowlen was good to the 29. Dowlen was handed the ball again and this time he was in for six. The extra point was good and the Jets had tied the game with 5:14 left in the first.

The Tigers seemed to be fired up after the Jets’ score and their next drive would regain the lead. Starting at their own 31, a Barnes run was good to the 45. Knowles dealt with a fumbled snap, running for his life but getting back to the line of scrimmage. Knowles took to the air next, completing to Nolan Gottlied down to the Jets’ 40, then a pass to Barnes was good to the 36. Isaac “The Kid” Knowles next ran it himself, using a stiff arm to take the ball down to the 22.

There it looked as if the drive would stall. A fumbled handoff resulted in no gain, then a Barnes run lost a yard. Next a keeper was good only to the 17, and the Tigers faced a fourth and five. DeKalb went for it and a Barnes carry went up the middle to the seven. From there, Knowles fumbled but recovered at the 10. As the second quarter began, he would make up for it on the next play, keeping the ball up the middle for a touchdown. Aranda’s kick was good and the Tigers took a 14-7 lead with 11:53 left in the second quarter.

The Jets were determined to keep things close, and their next drive would also gain points. Starting at their own 36, the Jets would take to the air to drive down the field. A pass to Logan Weaver was good to the 50, then a handoff to Dowlen was good to the 36. Later, a pass to McGhee was good to the 31, then another pass to Weaver was good only to the 31. Facing a fourth and three, the Jets opted for the field goal attempt. The kick was good and the Jets cut the lead, 14-10 with 9:32 left in the half.

That’s where the score would stay until the end of the half. Each team would have the ball and punt before the clock ran down.

The Jets would get the ball to start the second half, but would be unable to move the ball. Starting at their own 43, a Dowlen carry lost two yards, then a couple of passes to Weaver fell incomplete. Facing a fourth down, the Jets punted.

The punt would go out of bounds, giving the Tigers the ball at their own 44. The Jets would then get a big dose of Colby Barnes. A Barnes run was good to the Cumberland 49, then another was good to the 31. A keep took the ball to the 24, and another to the 20. Barnes was handed the ball again and powered his way down to the three yard line. There, it was Barnes again, up the middle for the touchdown. Aranda’s kick was through and the Tigers commanded a 21-10 lead with 8:03 left in the third.

The Jets would net only one yard on their next drive before desperation led to some “trickeration.” On a fourth and nine play, from their own 41, the Jets attempted a fake on a punt line up. Dowlen ran to the 47 before he was tackled, with the Tigers taking over on downs.

DeKalb would make them pay. After Crook was caught in the backfield for a four-yard loss, Knowles kept the ball and ran it all the way for six. Aranda’s kick was good and with 5:39 left in the third the Tigers were up 28-10.

The Jets would start their next possession at their own 40, and looked as if they might add more points to the board. Still mixing it up between the run and passing game, the Jets were able to move down to the DeKalb 29. There another passing play fell into the arms of the Tigers’ Isaac Knowles who ran it back to the Jets’ 25.

The Tigers would ice the cake three plays later. Barnes went up the middle to the 19, then as the fourth quarter began, Crook was good to the 17. Once more, Knowles kept the ball and was in for the touchdown. The PAT was good and the Tigers were up 35-10 with 11:32 left to play.

The Jets would get the ball one more time, only able to move to their own 45 before having to punt.

DeKalb would start at their own 16, and would begin to run the clock down. A keeper was good to the 23, then as a Crook run went up the middle, a battle ensued between both teams. A Jet threw a punch at Diego Coronado, who in turn grabbed the Jet player’s facemask. Both sides were penalized for personal fouls with the Cumberland player being ejected.

The Tigers would keep to the ground from there on, running the clock and taking the 35-10 victory.

After the game, Head Coach Steve Trapp talked about the last minute change to Knowles as quarterback. “We don’t know what happened to Trapp. Right before the game he had a shoulder issue and just couldn’t throw the ball.”

“As far as this week’s prep, Knowles had none of that,” Coach Trapp continued. “There was one day in the summer where he took some snaps, and the first week at Smith County we worked a whole day with him, so it’s not like it was cold turkey.”

“As far as our game plan, I was super proud of what these guys came out and did. We challenged our guys and told them that this is different than what we worked on, but it won’t be anything that you don’t know how to do.”

DeKalb is currently 2-2 (1-1) on the season, trying to keep close to Macon County 4-1 (2-0), and Upperman who is 4-1 (2-0). Stone Memorial is 3-2 (1-1), Cumberland falls to Cumberland County 2-3 (1-1), and Livingston Academy is 0-5 (0-2).

The Tigers’ next game is Homecoming as they take on the Cannon County Lions.